‘InSight’ turns a lens on NM photographers

“InSight,” an annual New Mexico photographic art show, brings together works from across the state. 

Kevin Black has been a lifelong photographer. This will be his first time participating in the “InSight” show.

His photos are vellum gilded and typically nature-related. He has three pieces in the show, each showing a flower grown in his own garden in Rio Rancho, including cosmos and Icelandic poppies.

“I make these things by hand and then gild them, which takes about three days,” Black said. “So they are full color but have interesting gold backgrounds.”

He said as his garden grows, he keeps an eye on the cycles of a flower, pinpointing the exact moment he wants to photograph it.

Black said he traditionally keeps the garden trim and organized but let the cosmos go wild this year. He said cosmos have many interesting color mixes, and the bees love them.

“ (I) put them in a nice little vase that actually had the word ‘magic’ on it, because they were just kind of magical to me,” he said.

Black grew up in southwest Philadelphia, and a neighbor sparked his love for growing things. She would show him how to work with flowers, fruits and vegetables, When he moved to New Mexico, he focused on working the soil and learning to garden in the desert.

His love for gardening and his unique style of photography both stem from a love of working with his hands. “It’s so central to who I am as a human being,” he said.

Most of all, he loves combining the two passions into one.

“This is just pure pleasure when you can combine the things that you love and create something that other people look at and go, ‘Ooh, I love that,’” he said.

The process of vellum gilding is over 100 years old, he said. His pursuit of older forms of photography began when he developed an interest in tintypes, another art style he favors.

Similar to Black, Carla Chirigos enjoys experimenting with photography styles.

“‘InSight’ is more about going out of your comfort zone and reaching out to something different,” she said.

Pieces in the show are not always traditional landscapes or things that would be in a magazine, she said, the sky’s the limit.

Chirigos described her work as contemporary and minimalistic. Her piece, “Intersections,” was created using acrylic, multicolored chopsticks and a light table.

She has participated in “InSight” and the fall show, “Shades of Gray,” before and finds the shows offer different avenues for photographers.

“Some images look much better in black-and-white and tones of gray, and you’re not distracted by colors. While other images really speak to you when you see the rainbow of colors,” she said.

“Intersections,” she said, is one of those pieces with “a rainbow of colors.” An image she entered in “Shades of Gray,” depicting dried amaryllis blossoms, inspired her to start photographing inanimate objects on the light table.

Photographer Todd Hakala was inspired by his previous work in the piece “Rise II.”

His photos focus on architecture and landscapes, and this year’s image depicts the WaFd Bank Building in Downtown from a similar angle to his photograph, “Rise.”

“I had taken a similar picture many years before in Salt Lake City, and I really liked the way it turned out. So I wanted to see if I could do the same thing here,” he said.

The piece is in a custom frame that elevates the image with varying mats, adding dimension, he said.

Hakala said he is drawn to photographing architecture from various angles because “God lives in the details.” The farther you are from a building, the more its surroundings will obscure those details, he said.

Hakala has participated in “InSight” many times, including serving on the committee. His wife has also shown.

He said “InSight” offers opportunities to receive peer feedback and gives photographers a platform for their art.

“People from all over the state enter this show, and it’s really wonderful to see so many people try to get in the show,” Hakala said.